It seems that in all the wine shops I visit, Don Miguel Gascón is the Malbec that I see everywhere. Perhaps that’s because it’s distributed by wine powerhouse, EJ Gallo. It’s named after the original founder of the winery, who moved from Spain to Argentina in 1880 and began building the winery in 1884. The winery was run by descendants of Gascón for over a century until it was purchased by a group of inventors in 1993, led by the Catena family—the same folks who make the Alamos Malbec, previously reviewed here.

There is only one type of wine that you’ll see with the Gascón name, and that is Malbec. In fact, unlike a number of other producers, they make only one version of their Malbec.

There isn’t much intensity on the nose of this wine. I gave it a while to open up and it’s still tight. Although it lacks intensity, the aromas are pleasant with jammy blackberry and a soft, dusty earthiness. On the palate it has much more concentration to the flavors than the nose would indicate. This is a big wine that gives loads of blackberry and plum flavors up front, leading into cocoa that carries into a fairly long finish. Fine tannins and sufficient acidity give this wine reasonable structure.

In the grand scheme, it’s a decent Malbec. But for the price, it’s very good.

The 2008 gets high reviews. Has a spot in my cabinet. Always found under $10. Your description of this wine couldn’t be more accurate. For the price, it IS a very good wine. They nailed the blackberry and earth.